


Worth the Risk

by Aryn



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV), Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 21:27:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13085703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aryn/pseuds/Aryn
Summary: When one of alt!Magnus' spells goes off course, he finds himself in a universe where another version of him is working as the High Warlock of Brooklyn and is in a stable relationship with shadowhunter Alec Lightwood. Together, the three of them have to figure out how to send him back to his old dimension.He's just not sure how he's going to break the news that he and Alec aren't together in his universe.





	Worth the Risk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tiger_Tiger_Burning_Bright](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiger_Tiger_Burning_Bright/gifts).



> So because I am a piece of human trash I got my deadlines mixed up and thought these stories were due on the 20th. I am so, so sorry this is late, but I hope you guys like it anyway!
> 
> I was given a prompt to do something with AU Magnus and AU Alec, and I pretty much followed it ... It's definitely more focused on AU Magnus, because I've read a lot of great fics about what would happen if AU Alec accidentally found himself in the Shadowhunters universe, but I wanted to explore what happened if AU Magnus found himself there. Enjoy!

“Oh god, what did I just do?”

Magnus Bane looked around in horror at his redecorated apartment. Gone were all the crystal balls, incense and tarot symbols that his clients found so intriguing. Now the space was more open and lavish, with grand chandeliers and bright-colored furniture.

_‘This is what I get for experimenting with my magic after more than a century,’_ Magnus thought, staring with disdain at the collection of wine and liquor bottles standing together in a cart a few feet from him. He didn’t know how his experimenting had led to this extreme interior decorating project, but he couldn’t say he hated the changes. There was a certain added charm to the place now — it looked like someone was truly _living_ there, and was really living life to the fullest, rather than just going through the motions from day to day.

But he would still have to change everything back before he brought any more customers in. This looked like the apartment of a debonair magnate, not a fortune teller’s home-office hybrid. 

“I suppose it could be worse,” he said to himself as he continued to seek out the differences in his living room. But he didn’t get very far before a raspy voice stopped him in his tracks. 

“Good morning,” the voice called out from behind him. Eyes wide with confusion and alarm, Magnus turned around slowly, and his jaw dropped in mortified shock at the sight of Alec Lightwood emerging from his bedroom, sleep mussed and shirtless. 

“Alec,” Magnus breathed. His blood ran cold and his stomach twisted into a ball as he scrambled to come up with a quick way to salvage the situation before Alec’s mind fully woke up and he inevitably freaked out at the fact that he was half naked in the home of a virtual stranger. Magnus braced himself, ready to face the accusations Alec would inevitably throw his way. But instead of yelling at him, Alec gave him a warm smile and took a few steps closer to give him a peck on the lips. Magnus froze and inhaled sharply through his nose.

“So, how was your meeting? That Turkish guy still giving you a hard time?” Alec asked, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. 

Magnus felt like he was going to cry, or faint, or both. All he was trying to do was make a portal, but he had clearly lost control of his magic and instead he had somehow both redecorated his apartment and altered Alec’s memories to make him believe that waking up in his bed was a normal occurrence. He did not understand how one spell could go so horribly wrong.

Alec’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his silence, and he scanned Magnus up and down. A moment later, his eyes widened and he took a small step back, the knot in Magnus’ stomach tightening as he did so.

“What’s with the new look?” Alec asked, which was the last thing Magnus expected him to ask. He gestured to Magnus’ grey cardigan and khaki pants. Now it was Magnus who furrowed his eyebrows, prompting Alec to hurriedly explain. “I mean, you look amazing, as always. I just don’t see you wearing these colors often. It’s more muted than what you typically go for.”

This situation continued to get more confusing. Magnus didn’t know Alec too well, but he didn’t seem like someone who would normally stutter out reassurances to a stranger about how much he liked their outfits like he was doing right now. 

Magnus took a step back from Alec to clear his head. He looked at the man closely, trying to figure out what to do to fix his predicament, but in doing so he noticed something startling on Alec’s figure — something so obvious that Magnus was embarrassed he didn’t notice sooner. Thick black designs were scattered all over his torso, so stark against his pale skin, so familiar they couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. But then again, it had been over a century since he had last seen them on a person. 

“Are those… _runes_?”

Alec looked down at the markings on his arms, then gave Magnus a bewildered look, like Magnus was the one who was missing something now. To be fair, Magnus wasn’t sure what to make of anything anymore. 

What on earth was going on? Why was Alec so calm at the sight of angelic runes all over his previously unmarked skin? How much had his magic tampered with Alec Lightwood’s life? Magnus hadn’t thought it was possible that a warlock could alter the biology of another living thing to this magnitude, but now he wasn’t so sure.

Seeing Magnus in a near catatonic state of panic, Alec took a step forward again, concern in his eyes. With one hand, he cupped the side of Magnus’ face to lock eyes with him, and Magnus found he couldn’t pull away. 

“Magnus, what’s wrong?”  
  
Magnus opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Really, what could he say in a situation like this?

But he didn’t have to say anything at all. A few seconds later, a portal appeared a few feet from them in the center of the living room.

Magnus’ jaw clenched in frustration. A moment ago, he thought his situation couldn’t get any worse, but clearly he was wrong. He could hardly deal with one person right now — there was no way he could handle anyone else. But it appeared that the universe was hell bent on screwing him in every way possible. 

Magnus did not know who he expected to come out of the portal, but it certainly wasn’t a mirror image of himself. 

Well, maybe “mirror image” wasn’t quite accurate. The man standing in front of them was definitely Magnus Bane, but other than their similar figures and facial features, the two men didn’t have much in common. From their hairstyles all the way down to their shoes, they appeared to be near polar opposites of each other. Even the way they held themselves was different. 

Alec took a big step back from the Magnus he was standing nearest to, and was now jerking his head back and forth between the two of them as if he was watching a tennis match, though the two warlocks remained frozen. Eyes locked on each other, it seemed they were both lost for words. 

The Magnus that had just arrived was the first to break their staring contest. Shaking his head slightly, he glanced at Alec for a split second, and then looked back at himself for a long moment, waiting to see if he was just a hallucination brought on by inhaling too much potion fumes. When he didn’t vanish, a befuddled smirk popped onto his face.

“Well… this is new.”

—

“First things first, what the _hell_ are you wearing?”

“Magnus. Priorities.” 

Magnus let out an exasperated sigh and shot a pleading look at Alec, who was looking thoroughly unamused. The warlock gestured at the shell-shocked Magnus seated on the couch in front of them. 

“This _is_ a priority Alexander,” Magnus insisted, taking a step toward his counterpart, who was taking him in with apprehension. “I mean, I get that we clearly live very different lives, but I thought you would know better than this. These tones?” Magnus leaned forward to pull at the fabric of his knit cardigan. _“They wash us out.”_

“Magnus,” Alec interrupted with a warning tone. The Magnus on the couch let out a relieved sigh when his doppelgänger turned his offended glare away from him. “We still have to figure out how to fix this mess.”

Magnus scoffed. “We wouldn’t even be in this mess if _this one_ had practiced his magic once or twice over the course of the last century,” he said with a judgmental look at the warlock on the couch. “I still don’t understand that, by the way. We’re so talented — why deprive the world of that?"

The other Magnus rolled his eyes, and Alec couldn’t help but note that the two warlocks never looked more similar. “My world has no need for magic anymore. I told you, demons and shadowhunters — they’re long gone. Once it was just mundanes left, the downworld found it easier to assimilate into regular society rather than carry on and risk exposure. I was content to do the same for a long time. It wasn’t until your friend Clary found me that I connected with my powers again and realized how much I missed it.”

“Your world sounds dreadfully boring,” Magnus commented, examining his nails. 

“Okay,” Alec placed a hand on Magnus’ shoulder to keep him from continuing on his unproductive train of thought. “Let’s try to stay on track here,” he said with a pointed look at the man beside him. He was given a sour look in return, but Alec could see a hint of amusement beneath his gaze. He turned back to the Magnus on the couch, who was silently observing them. “You believe parts of your magic were reawakened when Clary sought out your help a few months back, but now you’re having trouble accessing the rest of it?”

“It’s difficult to explain,” Magnus said, twisting his fingers together with a puzzled expression. “I can feel all my power there, it’s not as though a portion is still lying dormant. But it’s like I don’t have a firm grip on it, or like I have to relearn all of my old tricks again. I’ve been practicing ever since I sent Clary back to your world, but occasionally I’ve lost a handle on it and the magic escapes me in bursts — some of which are larger and more unpredictable than others.”

“Obviously,” Magnus commented, ignoring the cold glare he received from his counterpart. “I don’t suppose you would be comfortable trying to replicate the same portal that brought you here all by yourself?”  
  
“And risk making this disaster worse than it already is? I don’t think anyone wants that,” he said. “Why can’t you just send me back? You’re clearly more comfortable with your powers than I am, oh High Warlock of Brooklyn.”

“On any other day I would do so happily, but portaling between dimensions normally requires a considerable amount of stored energy, and I’ve just returned home from a very long day of work,” Magnus glanced to the side at Alec. “Kudret still refuses to see reason regarding the necessary reinforcements for his city.” Alec rolled his eyes in response, and Magnus turned back to the other warlock. “I’m afraid I can’t right now, but this shouldn’t be cause for concern anyhow. Inter-dimensional travel is something the seelie have always been experts in, rather than warlocks. I will send a fire message to Meliorn, and he can send you back to your world by the end of the day.”

With that, Magnus turned on his heel and left the living room. Alec did not follow him, but continued to stare at the other Magnus instead, a pinch of concern between his eyebrows. Neither of them spoke for a long moment, but then Alec said, “Look, I’m sure Meliorn will be able to send you back home, but are you sure you’re okay going back without a comfortable grip on your magic?”

“I appreciate your concern, but I will be fine. I was just too eager to try different spells because I haven’t embraced my magic in so long. I’ll be more careful in the future,” he said, and the resigned look in his eyes made Alec’s stomach tighten. Before he could say anything, however, Magnus smirked. “Besides, it’s not like I could just stay here forever. There is only room for one Magnus in every universe.” 

“You’re right about that,” Alec said with a small smile. “Could it be possible that you accidentally portaling yourself here wasn’t just a result of you being out of practice? Was there anything that could have happened while you were helping Clary that caused it?”

Magnus frowned. “We weren’t in contact for very long. She first helped me reawaken my magic here in my apartment, but all of that was small stuff — nothing severe enough to make an impact on my power as a whole. The only other time I used magic around her was at the Institute, but that was —”

“Wait, the Institute? The New York Institute?” Alec interrupted him to clarify. Magnus nodded in confirmation. “I thought you said that there are no more shadowhunters in your world?”

“There aren’t. The Institute is the base for an internet service company led by Valentine Morgenstern. Clary and I snuck in during the Institute’s 10-year anniversary celebration — a celebration that your alternate self actually coordinated, as a matter of fact.”

“Excuse me?” To say Alec was overwhelmed with all the new information Magnus had thrown at him would be an astronomical understatement. He didn’t even know what warranted his attention first, but Magnus ended up deciding for him. 

“I assume by your runes that you aren’t also a party planner in this dimension?”

“What?”

_“What?”_

Magnus stood frozen in the doorway to the living room, staring at the other two men. His expression brightened more and more with each passing second. Slowly, he made his way over to stand beside Alec again.

“Do you mean to tell us that in your reality, Alexander works as a party planner?” 

“Yes, and he’s a pretty good one at that, if that Mad Hatter celebration was anything to go by.”

From his seat on the couch, Magnus noted that the two men in front of him both had matching wide eyes, but the expressions in them couldn’t be more different. Alec’s eyes were filled with shock and some degree of horror, while Magnus’ brimmed with pure delight. 

With a snap of his fingers, Magnus pulled two seats toward him and Alec so each of them could speak at the same level as the other Magnus. Once they were both seated, he pinned his doppelgänger with an intense stare.

“Tell. Me. _Everything_.”

“Magnus, I —” Alec started to say. 

“Shhh, Alexander. This day just took a turn for the better.”

“Isn’t getting this Magnus back to his dimension more important than this?”

“Meliorn said he would be here within the hour to take him back home. Now shush and let the man speak,” Magnus said, waving off the rest of Alec’s protests and leaning forward eagerly. 

“I’m a little confused,” the other Magnus said, looking between the shadowhunter and the warlock. “What exactly do you want to know?”

Magnus let out a disbelieving chuckle, as if that question was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. “I want to know how on earth Alec Lightwood became a party planner in any universe in existence.”

“Well I think he enjoys it, to be perfectly candid,” Magnus replied. At this point he was used to the stunned looks he received whenever he said something to either of the two men, so he didn’t pause at their shocked faces now. “He was thriving in that environment, from what I could tell. He has the confidence for it — you can feel it from across the room. And he has the sort of fashion sense that allows him to fit in to the atmosphere, what with his gelled hair and patterned suits.”

_“Gelled hair?!”_ Alec whispered.

_“Patterned suits?!”_ Magnus exclaimed.

Magnus couldn’t decide which man he should respond to first. They both looked equally invested in the information he was relaying, though for distinctly different reasons. Alec looked like he had just smelled something foul, while Magnus wore a beaming smile like he had just received the best news of his life.

“I mean, he totally pulls it off, if that’s any consolation,” he said. 

Magnus scooted forward on his chair, almost falling out of it entirely. “I need visual evidence of this, right now. By visual evidence, I mean pictures. Lots of pictures. All the pictures. Give me your phone.”

But instead of taking his phone out of his pocket, the other Magnus leaned away from him and sunk further into the couch cushions. “I don’t have any pictures of Alec on my phone.”

“What?” Magnus looked more outraged about this than anything else he had heard that day. “Why the hell not? Do you not realize what a beautiful specimen you have on hand? I had to dedicate an entire folder in my phone’s photo gallery to shots I took of him.” Beside him, Alec was shaking his head, but he couldn’t help the quirk of his lips. 

On the couch, the other Magnus had never looked more uncomfortable. “Um… you see… actually… Alec and I aren’t together in my dimension.”

Both men across from him froze. Awkward tension filled the room, so thick you could cut it with a knife. Alec shifted a little restlessly in his chair and finally filled the silence. “But- I mean, you said you knew each other, didn’t you?”

“I only talked with him briefly at the anniversary celebration for the Institute, but we didn’t have much time before I had to go help Clary.”

“And you didn’t try to contact him afterward…?” Magnus’ question trailed off as he watched his counterpart shake his head with an ashamed look on his face. 

_‘God, as if this conversation couldn’t get any more awkward,’_ the warlock thought before letting out a heavy sigh and answering, “Actually, Alec has been the one reaching out to me. I don’t know how he got my phone number, but he did somehow, and he’s texted me a couple times over the last month or two. I just haven’t had the nerve to respond to any of them.”

A few slow seconds ticked by as Magnus tried to process this information. “So,” he said, squinting his eyes shut as he tried to make sense of the situation. “In your reality, Alec is the one being forward, but you’re hesitant to pursue a relationship with him?”  
  
Magnus opened his mouth to defend himself, to come up with some excuse, but nothing came out. Even within his own head, he never could figure out a good reason why he was ignoring Alec’s messages, so he certainly couldn’t justify it to another person.

In response to his long silence, Magnus shook his head and pushed himself out of his chair. “Wow. You might be another version of me from an alternate reality, but I really don’t understand you in the slightest,” he said as he walked out of the living room. 

Magnus wanted the couch to swallow him whole. Ashamed and embarrassed, he chanced a glance at Alec, who was rubbing his face with one hand and looking anywhere that wasn't at him. Sensing his gaze, Alec’s eyes shifted and met Magnus’. What he saw in his expression was apparently enough to prompt Alec to speak up. 

“Look, I know this is really not my place to say… I mean, you and the Alec from your dimension could have zero chemistry, and I shouldn’t even —”

“No,” Magnus interrupted him. “The chemistry isn’t the problem. It’s me. I know there could be something there if I gave it a chance. Alec is… well he’s remarkable,” he said, looking down at the carpet and smiling softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more alive in the last 400 years than I did while I was in his presence. I think I tried to fool myself into believing it was my powers being reawakened that did it, but it was him. And somehow, he felt something toward me as well — enough for him to find my number and text me... I’m just a coward.”

Magnus looked back up at Alec to see that his gaze had warmed considerably, though he still wasn’t smiling. “You know, I can’t imagine myself acting the way you’ve described the Alec from your dimension.”

“You do seem much more quiet and reserved than he is. His aura is difficult to describe. He has this element of flirtation that comes so naturally to him, which very few people possess.”  
  
“You see, I really can’t picture myself like that,” Alec said with a huff. “In this reality, I would never dream of doing the things your Alec does. But you, on the other hand, I feel like I understand where you’re coming from.”

“You do?”  
  
Alec nodded. “When Magnus and I first met, I didn’t know how to process my feelings for him. It terrified me, and that in combination with other conflicts at the time made me push him away — almost to the point of losing him forever. I’m afraid I hurt him more than I even realize.”

Magnus watched the man in front of him struggle to find his next words, so he spoke for him. “And you believe I’m pushing Alec away for no good reason?”

“Like I said, I don’t know your world. There could be details I don’t know about — there probably is. I’m just saying I understand your fear. I know what it’s like to be in your place, and I know how scary it is. But I also know that this,” Alec said, gesturing around the loft and lifting his hand in the direction the other Magnus had left in, “is definitely worth the risk. Magnus and I are together in this reality because he refused to give up on me, and I am so, _so_ grateful for that. He took a chance, even though he knew I could still reject him.”

Magnus recalled the soft smile Alec had given him earlier that morning, back when he believed him to be the Magnus from his own dimension. He thought back on all the affectionate looks Alec shot Magnus’ way throughout their conversation, appearing when the other man wasn’t looking and most often when the warlock was being overly exuberant. 

“I find it hard to believe that you would turn that man down at any point in time,” he said. Alec chuckled and shrugged in response. 

“I agree with you. Thinking back about how I behaved… I don’t really know what I was thinking. But again, I was scared. The way you described how your Alec made you feel — that’s exactly how I felt after I met Magnus, like a part of my mind that had been asleep for all my life was suddenly awake and laser-focused on him. That feeling isn’t nothing, and I don’t want you to regret ignoring it. If the Alec in your dimension truly makes you feel that way, then you should at least give him a chance. All it takes is just one date to tell.”

“Is that all it took for you?”

Alec laughed, “Oh no, I was hooked long before we ever went on our first date.” When Magnus raised his eyebrows at him in surprise, he went on. “I mean, it took us awhile to get there, to be fair. And we had already been through so much together already. But that’s not the point. I know this is your decision, but I think you should call him. Even if it doesn’t work out, at least then you’ll know.”

But Magnus wasn’t scared because he thought he and Alec wouldn’t work out. He was scared because he believed they would. From just their brief interaction at the party, Magnus could see that Alec Lightwood could be someone monumental in his life. If the two of them got together, he knew that it wouldn’t be some whirlwind fling. And from how their alternate selves ended up in this reality, Magnus knew his hunch was correct. 

But if he allowed himself to go all in, and then years later they broke up or were separated — Magnus didn’t know if he could handle that for the remainder of his immortal life. On the other hand, the idea of them staying together for the long haul was almost more scary, because Alec was mortal. Why would he willingly fall for someone he knew would eventually leave him?

Magnus’ eyes drifted around the loft as he pondered it all. They fell upon a collection frames hung along a wall to his right that displayed photos of the couple alongside people Magnus could only assume were their friends and family. Then his eyes shifted to the two black coats hanging on a rack near the front door, both alike in color but so different in style. On and on, Magnus took in the details of the apartment that indicated the peaceful cohabitation between the two men. That, Magnus realized, was the biggest difference between this home and the one from his reality. 

Thinking back on his life over the last century, Magnus reflected on what he was missing, what he craved more than anything else. It was this — he wanted a relationship based on mutual friendship. He wanted to be with someone he could always feel at home with and could trust without hesitation or regret. He wanted what the Alec and Magnus from this reality had already created, and now that he knew that it was possible, Magnus doubted he would be able to let it go easily.

His eyes shifted back to Alec, who was observing him with a calm expression. “Thank you,” Magnus said. 

Alec just smiled at him. Before either of the men could break the peaceful silence, two knocks on the front door startled them. A puff of blue smoke appeared to unlock and open the door, and Meliorn strolled through, the other Magnus walking back into the living room to greet him. 

“Meliorn, thank you for coming,” he said. 

“I can’t say I wasn’t intrigued by your fire message,” he replied, taking in the two Magnus Banes with a smirk. “I can send you back to your dimension,” Meliorn said to the Magnus on the couch, “but I can’t do it here. You will have to come with me.”

“Alright,” Magnus agreed. He stood up and began walking toward Meliorn, but a few steps in he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. 

“Here,” Magnus said from beside him, handing him a black vial he had pulled out of his jacket. “For your magic. I usually give this potion to warlocks who have been held in captivity or cut off from their magic for long periods of time, but it should help you reconnect with your power at more manageable levels. No more of those unpredictable bursts.”

“Thanks,” he said, slightly stunned as he pocketed the bottle. He looked at Alec and Magnus, “Both of you, truly, thank you so much for all your help.”

Neither of the men said anything in return, but Alec gave him a meaningful nod. Together, they watched Magnus follow Meliorn out the front door. After it closed behind them, Magnus turned to smirk at Alec, shifting so he could wrap his arms around his middle. 

“So,” he drawled. “You were hooked on me before we even went on our first date, huh?”

Alec shook his head at Magnus’ words, but his face held a broad grin. “I should’ve known you were eavesdropping.”

“Big time,” Magnus said, leaning forward to kiss him gently. “I was too, for the record.”

Alec hummed against his lips. “I could’ve guessed that,” he said, laughing when Magnus swatted his shoulder. “Do you think he’s actually gonna make a move?” Alec asked, nodding toward the front door. 

“He’d better,” Magnus scoffed, rolling his eyes at the actions of his alternate self. “What on earth was he thinking, letting someone like you slip through his fingers?”

Paralleling his words, Alec’s fingers went carding through Magnus’ hair as he replied, “We don’t know what his world is like. Maybe that Alec is a dick who doesn’t deserve someone like Magnus?”

“Please,” Magnus said, tightening his arms around Alec’s torso in reassurance. “I refuse to believe you are anything less than amazing in any dimension.”

“You’re biased.”

“I’m also always right,” Magnus retorted. “Besides, didn’t you hear that Magnus’ description of him?”

"You're referring to the slicked back hair and patterned suits?” Alec recalled with a slight shudder as he imagined himself trying to pull that look off. 

“No, not that — though I wish I could have seen it for myself. It was the whole, _‘I could feel his confidence from across the room,’_ spiel that gave him away,” Magnus said with a knowing smile. “That man is smitten.”

—

“Hello?”

“Alexander, hi. This is Magnus Bane.”

“Ooh, ‘ _Alexander_ ,’ very formal,” Alec’s voice teased on the other end of the line, and Magnus stiffened when he realized he had accidentally used the name he had heard the other Magnus refer to Alec by. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, do you prefer —”

“No no, I like it! It sounds elegant coming from your lips,” he said, making Magnus flush. How was that even possible over the phone?

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you,” Magnus said, his heart beating into overdrive when Alec remained silent on the other end. “I’m not the greatest at this type of thing… But I really would like to see you again. I was thinking, if you’re still interested, maybe we could go out for a drink sometime?” He asked tentatively. After a heavy beat of silence, Magnus truly began to panic, and he scrambled to continue. “Or, you know, if you don’t drink we could also go get coffee? Or we could always grab a bite to eat — I know this great Ethiopian place just around the corner from my apartment — but we don’t have to get food either, we could visit —”

“Magnus,” Alec interrupted him, a hint of amusement in his tone, which was definitely softer than it had been earlier. 

“Yeah?”  
  
“Drinks sound perfect.”

Magnus let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Oh. Well, great! When would you like to meet?”

“How about right now?”

Magnus laughed, his chest feeling a thousand times lighter. “It’s nine in the morning.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s happy hour somewhere.”


End file.
